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Cab driver arrested in connection with murder of top HDFC Bank executive

One person was arrested by the police in connection with the murder of a top executive of the HDFC Bank whose body was found on Sunday, four days after the man had been reported missing.

SNS Web | New Delhi | September 10, 2018 8:34 pm

Representational Image (Photo: Getty Images)

One person was arrested by the police in connection with the murder of a top executive of the HDFC Bank whose body was found on Sunday, four days after the man had been reported missing.

Sarfaraz Shaikh alias Rais, a 20-year-old cab driver, was detained by the Navi Mumbai police along with four others. Shaikh was handed over to the Mumbai Police who arrested the Koparkhairane resident for allegedly killing Siddharth Sanghavi, a vice-president

According to the police, Shaikh was hired to kill HDFC vice-president Siddharth Sanghavi by the four people who have been detained. Among the four is a woman.

Police suspects that Sanghavi’s killing is the fallout of a professional rivalry.

Shaikh allegedly killed Sanghavi on 5 September, Wednesday, and dumped his body near the Haji Malang shrine at Kalyan in neighbouring Thane district.

During investigation, Shaikh, who also works as a fabricator, claimed he was hired by four people, including a woman, to kill Sanghavi, police said.

The car used in the crime was found parked near Shaikh’s residence.

“As of now, we have arrested one person and questioning is on in the case of the others,” Senior Police Inspector of NM Joshi Marg police station, Pandit Thorat said.

Sanghavi, a resident of upscale Malabar Hill area in South Mumbai, used to travel to Kamala Mills compound in Parel, Central Mumbai, where his office was located.

His family members lodged a missing person complaint at the NM Joshi Marg Police Station Central Mumbai when he did not return home.

His car was found abandoned on Friday at Koparkhairane in adjoining Navi Mumbai with blood stains on its rear seat, the police said earlier.

Sanghavi’s phone was switched on for a few minutes in Navi Mumbai after he went missing, the official said, adding the phone has been found with Shaikh.

Shaikh kept changing his statements after he was detained and questioned. He did not name the mastermind and tried to change the direction of the investigation by giving misleading information, the official added.

He has been reportedly booked under IPC sections 364 (kidnapping or abduction with intent to confine), 365 (kidnapping or abduction with intent to murder) and 302 (murder).

Sanghvi, who had joined HDFC in 2007, was promoted thrice in 10 years starting with assistant vice president in 2011. His recent promotion happened in January 2017.